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Iron Pen
The Iron Pen Trigrams Hexagrams Weaponry: Languages spoken: Chinese, Manchu, Mongolian Scripts read: Chinese, Classical Chinese, Sanskrit, Latin, Mongolian. Notable Equipment and Resources: Mechanical Armor: Iron Pen isn't so much wearing a suit of armor as he is ''a suit of armor. This armor gives him four points of armor, -4 to all stealth, evasion, and acrobatics checks, and a +1 to all Hand to Hand, and Melee damage, and a +2 to Athletics checks. Arc Projector (6 taels taels): After going rogue, Iron Pen created this advanced electrical weapon system, installing it into his own body. Powered by a steam driven dynamo, the Lightning Cannon builds up electrical currents in capacitors that are discharged via a set of tines that extend from Iron Pen's forearms. He refers to the cannon as the Storm of Revolution. Electrical Punching Daggers (5 taels): Iron Pen can extend a set of forked spikes from his forearms, which double as both the firing point for his Lightning Cannon and as a pair of deadly punching daggers. When deployed, he deals lethal rather than nonlethal damage with his hand to hand attacks. He calls them Civil Justice and Social Change. Rocket Launcher (6 taels): Iron Pen has a large rocket launcher built into his right shoulder, that normally sits folded on his back. When deployed, It fires an explosive rocket a ridiculous distance. It holds six rockets, held in separate barrels like a massive revolver. It's traditionally loaded with fragmentation rockets, which explode over a 5m radius, making them very useful at long ranges and very not useful at close ranges. Steam Vents: Iron Pen's body is powered by a small high-pressure steam engine. Said engine needs period venting, which Iron Pen has, with a bit of tinkering, figured out how to weaponize. While the steam is not quite hot enough to deal damage, it is hot enough to blind anyone who enters it with unprotected eyes. It acts as a Blinding Smoke grenade, filling a 5m radius with blinding hot steam. Gigantic Autocycle: Though he usually just lumbers around as inconspicuously as he can, he does occasionally mount the world's largest autocycle for going off to fight tyranny. Iron Pen built this bike from several smaller autocycles, and calls it The Vanguard of the Proletariat. Motorskates (3 taels): Iron Pen has a set of motorized wheels installed in his own feet, which when deployed, allow him to skate across the ground like a living truck. Pen: Iron Pen has keeps many of these on his person at all times, and even had one built into his finger. Paper: Likewise, he keeps a pad of paper on him at all times, for impromptu poetry slams. Money: Not needing to eat cuts down on Iron Pen's bills. Needing to be repaired and refueled by specialists more than makes up for that, though. He has two about taels of silver in cash squirreled away in a secret compartment. '''Talents:' Background: Automaton Your character is an automaton – a human brain trapped inside a mechanical body. You are considered to be permanently wearing mechanical armor, granting a +4 armor bonus, -4 to Evasion, Stealth, and Acrobatics, a +1 to Athletics checks, and a +1 Melee and Hand to Hand attack and damage. Also, you can't swim. Boxing Style: Pi Gua! Iron Pen has been trained in Pi Gua Quan (Splitting-Hooking Boxing), a system of Chinese boxing that emphasizes powerful swinging blows of the fists and forearms. This style grants Iron Pen a +3 to unarmed damage. Boxing Style: Shuai Jiao! In addition to Pi Gua, Wang also trained extensively in Shuai Jiao, (Chinese folk wrestling), a style that emphasizes throwing and grappling maneuvers. Using this style grants Iron Pen +3 to unarmed accuracy. Note that Iron Pen cannot make use of the benefits of Pi Gua and Shuai Jiao at the same time; he must switch between the styles as a melee fighter would switch between weapons. Warrior Opens the Gate! Requirements: Hand to Hand 1 Locked doors are no match for your steel fists and iron feet. When confronted with a locked door, you may roll your Hand to Hand damage in place of a Security check. Doors opened in such a way show obvious evidence of tempering, such as fist-sized holes or being kicked off of their hinges. Dance of the Thunder God! Requirements: Engineering 4 You know how to use an Arc Projector to it's fullest capacity, striking multiple foes with a single bolt of electricity. After successfully striking an opponent with an Arc Projector, you may spend a point of Breath to jump the bolt to another target. If you successfully strike that target, you may spend another ''point of Breath to jump to ''another ''target, until you either miss, run out of Breath, or run out of targets. Each time you hit a new target, the bolt suffers a -1 penalty to Power and Precision (-1 on the second target, -2 on the third, etc. etc.). '''Bull Charges the Gates!' Requirements: Athletics 2 You can charge at your foes at high speeds, barreling them over with crushing force. Spend a point of Breath; when moving and attacking a foe with a melee or hand to hand attack, you add your Athletics skill to your damage. Face of a Demon! Requirements: Fortitude 1 You both look tough and are tough. You may add your Fortitude skill ranks to your Bravado total. Moral Compulsion! Requirements: Scholarship 2 You are well versed with the religious, political, and ethical systems of the land, and know how to work them to your advantage. When dealing with an individual who holds to a structured belief system that you can identify (such as a Buddhist monk, a Confucian scholar, or a Mohist radical), you may add your Scholarship skill ranks to Persuasion checks. The ability does not work against the self-interested or those who lack strong beliefs. Biography: The story of Wang Yuxin is a sad story. Wang Yuxin was a brilliant scholar and engineer, well-versed in not only science and mathematics, but also history, literature, law, and statecraft. As a young man studying at one of the most prestigious academies in China, Yuexin became a leader of the'' Renping Shehui (''People's Equality Society), a radical neo-Mohist school that advocated the total abolition of the divides of sex, class, birth, and wealth. The neo-Mohists believed that China set itself on the path to tyranny by adopting Confucianism over all other schools of thought in the Han dynasty, instead favoring the teachings of Confucious's contemporary Mo Zi, who taught universal love and equality. Yuxin spoke passionately and wrote many tracts on the need to over throw the Confucian order, and create a true nation of the people. He and his contemporaries often clashed with authorities and members of the conservative Confucian literati, and brawls between Mohists and Confucians were commonplace at the academy. However, even in the increasingly open intellectual environment of 19th century China, Yuxin's rabble-rousing eventually crossed the line. Yuxin found himself seized by jack-booted thugs in the dead of night, beaten, tied, and carried off to his fate. In traditional Chinese law, crimes are admonished with the Five Punishments – caning, beating, prison, exile,and execution. Yuxin was sentenced to something only whispered of in dark hours of the night, something reserved only for political prisoners and enemies of the state - The Sixth Punishment. Yuexin was to have his still-living brain and key life-supporting organs removed from her body, and placed into a mechanical frame of steel and brass. Rendered obedient by mind-altering chemicals, the mechanized Yuexin was to serve in His Imperial Majesty's Automaton Guard. However, fate took a small pity on Yuxin. Due to either an improper dosage of conditioning chemicals, or mayhaps just his own willful spirit, Yuxin broke his conditioning and fled the Automaton Guard. He went rogue, disappearing into the ''jianghu, ''with his brilliant mind forever trapped in a hulking mechanical body. Appearance: Iron Pen is over six and a half feet tall and made entirely of iron and bronze, powered by pneumatic steamworks that must be periodically vented. As such, he stands out quite a bit. In order to disguise his inhuman body, he wraps himself in loose rags and bandages like a beggar, and wears a large straw hat and straw rain cape in order to conceal his form. Personality: Iron Pen is a passionate idealist at his core, who dreams of creating a better world for all men and women. The hellish ordeal of being transformed into a machine almost stripped him of his passion, but instead only served to galvanize his hatred for established power and those who would tyrannize others. He is bold, forthright and sincere, with little talent or inclination for subterfuge or deception. As an automaton, Iron Pen is capable of speaking through a mechanical device, but his voice is harsh and metallic. As such, he prefers to communicate through writing. Since re-awakening, he has authored countless tracts and essays on civics, politics, philosophy, and the need for social change. Playstyle: Iron Pen is a combat and social character. Despite his inhuman appearance, he can be quite moving with words, and is extremely well educated. He is well-versed in unarmed combat – a holdover from his days of streetfights with conservatives Confucians – and has applied his scientific knowledge to installing high-tech weaponry in his own body. He is a large but extremely robust target, and rarely bothers even trying to dodge attacks, simply absorbing them as he goes.